Is there a noticable difference in patterning between a Eastern Wild Turkey and a Narragansett poult? The lady that I got my eggs from sells the Narris, Eastern Wilds & Merriams-of which I noticed all look similar as poults. Two of my poults have a great deal more dark down on their backs; is this normal? None of my 5 Narri poults had this much variance in color though I assume different lines certainly could. The colors on mine were the same, just each had a unique pattern. I'm concerned of the 4 poults alive after a disastrous hatch that 2 may not be what I paid for. Needless to say, I'm bit aggravated.
On a sidenote regarding my hatch, what a disaster!! The Bird marked 'A' has blue eyeliner on his head so I could keep an eye on him. I had to stuff his umbilicus back into his body. I covered it with some aquaphor & a band-aid overnight, and it closed up just fine. I am starting the poults on Tetracycline today to avoid yolk sack infections. They all had open navels to varying degrees. I did some reading & found various potential reasons for this. The one that made the most sense was that since the humidity was initially too high and there was not enough weight loss over the incubation period, the yolk sacs were enlarged. Thus the poults were not able to absorb all of it and close their navels prior to hatch. We ended up with 4 poults and they seem healthy. I'm taking them out of the incubator today as they each had their exposed bits absorbed or dried up.
Bird A
Bird A
Bird A
& the second one...
Bird B
Bird B
Bird B
Together...
ETA:: The seller responded to my message just now and said they are 100% certain they are pure. He says they collect eggs at different times of day to avoid mixups. Also, that their different strains hatch lighter or darker, they also see this when hatching, but that they will be the same by 3-5 months with natural plumage.
On a sidenote regarding my hatch, what a disaster!! The Bird marked 'A' has blue eyeliner on his head so I could keep an eye on him. I had to stuff his umbilicus back into his body. I covered it with some aquaphor & a band-aid overnight, and it closed up just fine. I am starting the poults on Tetracycline today to avoid yolk sack infections. They all had open navels to varying degrees. I did some reading & found various potential reasons for this. The one that made the most sense was that since the humidity was initially too high and there was not enough weight loss over the incubation period, the yolk sacs were enlarged. Thus the poults were not able to absorb all of it and close their navels prior to hatch. We ended up with 4 poults and they seem healthy. I'm taking them out of the incubator today as they each had their exposed bits absorbed or dried up.
& the second one...
Together...
ETA:: The seller responded to my message just now and said they are 100% certain they are pure. He says they collect eggs at different times of day to avoid mixups. Also, that their different strains hatch lighter or darker, they also see this when hatching, but that they will be the same by 3-5 months with natural plumage.
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